my first facial

Confession: I have never had my nails done - fingers or toes. Why pay others when I can do the same with a bottle of polish and a steady hand? Besides, wet nails are the best defense against nighttime munchies.

I also never had a facial until last week when I cashed in a gift certificate at the ACAC Spa. At home I am very good to my skin. But just as I can’t resist browsing at Sephora or the Belk beauty counters once a week, I can’t resist testing moisturizers, foundation, and powder - from mattifying loose minerals to botanical-infused night treatments. Around 90 percent of the time it leads to clogged pores, and occasionally a full-on breakout if an ingredient was particularly irritating. After testing two illuminating moisturizers and a new sunscreen last month my skin was looking less than fabulous and my usual arsenal wasn’t quite rising to the challenge. It was time, as a male friend put it, to have someone else to torture my skin into shape.

As the New York Times pointed out in this article, facials are not a proven defense against wrinkles. But as my spa visit verified, they are fantastic for fighting dullness, clogged pores, and fading spots and unevenness. Thanks to the gentle and thorough work of my esthetician, Carol, during my hour long custom facial my skin is clearer than it has been since Sephora came to town last year.

Carol also stocked me up with a couple products to keep things clear between appointments. I may never go back to grainy scrubs after using Dermalogica’s Gentle Cream Exfoliant, which harnesses alpha hydroxy acid to cut through dead skin, oil, and grime. I have tried a lot of scrubs over the years, but my skin has never been this soft. Now I’m curous about some of the other chemical-based exfoliators I’ve seen out there, like the renowned ExfoliKate by Kate Somerville.

I’m also loving Dermalogica’s Special Cleansing Gel; this soap-free cleanser foams beautifully and leaves my skin clean and fresh without tightness or dryness. Like all of the Dermalogica line, both products are free of artificial colors and fragrances, mineral oil and lanolin.

Of course as always, the best thing anyone can do for their skin is wear sunscreen religiously. Carol says to steer clear of sunscreens with PABA (Padimate O or octyl dimethyl PABA) which can irritate skin and cause breakouts.